A04_SOW_CO___Program_revised_Final.docx

PWS PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

FIRE-BIL Blackjack RX Fire Break Maintenance on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

PART 1

General Information

1. General: This is a non-personnel services requirement to provide land clearing for the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: This award is for one year with two scheduled treatments. The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform mechanical clearing of approximately 530 acres on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge as defined in this Performance Work Statement except for those items specified as government furnished property and services. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this performance work statement.

1.2 Background: The Aransas / Matagorda Refuge Complex would like to mechanically clear land on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The Complex does not have machines large enough to clear the trees and brush that are located on the Refuge so we will need to use a clearing company to do the work. The purpose for this vegetation project is to remove hazardous fuels in these units and, increase the dependable space along control lines to aid in prescribed fire implementation as well as wildfire control on the Refuge. See the attached PDF files of the units.

1.3 Objectives:

· Treat approximately 530 acres on the Complex outlined on the PDF. files and maps.

· The trees and brush need to be mulched level to ground with as minimal soil disturbance as possible.

· The area must be kept clean at all times.

· Disk lines must be to bare mineral soil.

1.4 Scope: The Company must use the least impactful machine on the soil of this area. The project must access the area only during dry times. If the areas are wet, they will not be able to work on the project areas, to minimize the damage to the Refuge. The contractor shall accomplish mowing to level ground with, as minimal soil disturbance as possible, and disking will need to be completed to bare mineral soil.

1.5 Period of Performance: One year from award date. This will be a multiple treatment award (two treatments per contract). The period of performance will be set per Refuge/fire management to meet the objectives.

1.6 General Information: A majority of the units that will be treated have a sandy soil. Depending on amount of moisture in the soil, some areas may be hard to access with standard vehicles. Most all heavy equipment can navigate just fine.

1.6.1 Quality Control: The contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The contractor’s quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirement of the contract. The QCP is to be delivered within 30 days after contract award or with the contractors proposal if it is an evaluation factor, three copies of a comprehensive written QCP shall be submitted to the KO and COR within 5 working days when changes are made thereafter. After acceptance of the quality control plan, the contractor shall receive the contracting officer’s acceptance in writing of any proposed change to his QC system.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance: The government shall evaluate the contractor’s performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rate(s).

1.6.3 Recognized Holidays: The Contractor is not required to perform work on these holidays:

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday President’s Day Memorial Day Juneteenth Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veteran’s Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

1.6.4 Hours of Operation: The contractor is responsible for conducting business, between the hours of sunrise to sunset Sunday thru Saturday except Federal holidays at the Contractor’s option. The Contractor must, at all times, maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this PWS when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

1.6.5 Place of Performance: The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at Aransas NWR. Please see the attached .PDF file.

1.6.6 Type of Contract: The government will award a firm-fixed price.

1.6.7 Gate Locks: The Contractor shall furnish their locks and keys that will be attached to our gates, commonly known as “Contractor Locks” that will not limit or obstruct access to the government. The Contractor is responsible for removing this lock at the completion of land clearing this unit. A code to the front gate that leads to the office will be provided.

1.6.8 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meetings: The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The contracting officer, Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the contractor to review the contractor's performance. At these meetings, the contracting officer will apprise the contractor of how the government views the contractor's performance and the contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the government.

1.6.9 Contracting Officer Representative (COR): The (COR) will be Scott Affeldt. His contact information is: 1 Wildlife Circle, Austwell, TX 77950, Gov. Cell 956-330-7311, email scott_affeldt@fws.gov. The backup COR shall be Ashley Samberson, 806-336-6355, email ashley_samberson@fws.gov, or Susie Perez, Gov. Cell 361-894-5444, email susie_perez@fws.gov. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance; maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, and specifications; monitor Contractor's performance and notifies both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of government furnished property, and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to the changes in cost or price, estimates, or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to changes any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

1.6.10 Key Personnel: The following personnel are considered key personnel by the government: Contract Manager and Site Project Leader. The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The contract manager or alternate shall be available between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday thru Friday except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

1.6.11 Identification of Contractor Employees: All contract personnel attending meetings and working in other situations where their contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by contractors are suitably marked as contractor products or that contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

1.6.12 Contractor Travel: Contractor will be responsible for all travel cost and scheduling of travel.

1.6.13 Other Direct Costs: Contractor is responsible for the cost to transfer between units as required for the contract. Contractor is responsible for all vehicle and equipment recovery in the event of breakdowns and becoming stuck.

1.6.14 Organizational Conflict of Interest: Contractor and subcontractor personnel performing work under the resulting order may receive, have access to or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications, or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI) as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the Contracting Officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The Contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the Contracting Officer and in the event the Contracting Officer unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the Contracting Officer may effect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting the Contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI.

PART 2

Definitions & Acronyms

2. Definitions and Acronyms:

2.1. DEFINITIONS:

2.1.1. CONTRACTOR. A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

2.1.2. CONTRACTING OFFICER. A person with authority to enter into, administer, and or terminate contracts, and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the government. Note: The only individual who can legally bind the government.

2.1.3. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR). An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the contracting officer to administer the contract. Such appointment shall be in writing and shall state the scope of authority and limitations. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as that direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change, and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

2.1.4. DEFECTIVE SERVICE. A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

2.1.5. DELIVERABLE. Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

2.1.6. KEY PERSONNEL. Contractor personnel that are evaluated in a source selection process and that may be required to be used in the performance of a contract by the Key Personnel listed in the PWS. When key personnel are used as an evaluation factor in best value procurement, an offer can be rejected if it does not have a firm commitment from the persons that are listed in the proposal.

2.1.7. PHYSICAL SECURITY. Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

2.1.8. QUALITY ASSURANCE. The government procedures to verify that services being performed by the Contractor are performed according to acceptable standards.

2.1.9. QUALITY ASSURANCE Surveillance Plan (QASP). An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of contractor performance.

2.1.10. QUALITY CONTROL. All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product or service shall meet contract requirements.

2.1.11. SUBCONTRACTOR. One that enters into a contract with a prime contractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with the subcontractor.

2.1.12. WORK DAY. The number of hours per day the Contractor provides services in accordance with the contract.

2.1.12. WORK WEEK. Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2. ACRONYMS:

PART 3

Government Furnished Property, Equipment, and Services

3. Government Furnished Items and Services:

3.1. Services: The Government will not provide any services for this contract.

3.2 Facilities: Due to the remoteness of the refuge, a location will be allowed onsite for bulk fuel storage tanks (trailer, skid units, etc.).

3.3 Utilities: The Government will not provide any utilities for this contract.

3.4 Equipment: The Government will not provide any equipment for this contract

3.5 Materials: The Government will not provide any materials for this contract.

PART 4

Contractor Furnished Items and Services

4. Contractor Furnished Items and Responsibilities:

4.1 General: The Contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, facilities and services required to perform work under this contract that are not listed under Section 3 of this PWS.

4.1.1 Equipment: The Contractor shall furnish all equipment to adequately preform the requested job and that is least impactful on the soil areas of this unit. A mulching head will be required to spread material out, dozers and/or excavators are not allowed to pile material.

PART 5

Specific Tasks

5. Specific Tasks:

The treatments will be scheduled from the COR to align with the mission of the Fire Management Program. This award will be for two treatments of the below listed tasks. Typically one treatment would be early summer and one treatment would be late fall but this will depend on moisture and fire danger and the treatment timeframes will be set by the COR with a performance period of 30 days from start date.

Refuge Roads: Mowing alongside designated refuge roads. The minimum standard will be 12 foot from the edge of the road. Treatments that will include the road will be identified on the map with the color red; treatments that only include the roadsides will be in blue. Additionally, all signs, culverts and water control structures will need to be mechanically treated as well (ex. Weed trimmer, hand mowing, etc.) within that 8-foot minimum standard. Contractor is responsible for removing any large buildup of debris left on paved roads.

RX Fire Breaks: The minimum standard for this treatment will be a minimum of 20-foot wide bare mineral soil line. All of these lines are current firebreaks and will be easily identified. Some of these lines may have small brush (1 – 6 inch DBH) that will need to be removed. As well, some will have wood chips present from previous mechanical work.

WUI Break: The minimum standard for this treatment will be a minimum of 40-foot wide bare mineral soil line. This line has multiple seasonal wet areas that depending on rainfall amounts may not be passable. These will be left to the COR to determine if they can be skipped depending on the time of the treatment. Some will have wood chips present from previous mechanical work.

Mulching: The minimum standard for this treatment will be removal of all (100%) woody material down to ground level. The woody material in these units is mainly 12-inch diameter or less but there are larger trees within the unit.

5.1 Treatment Breakdown:

** Refer to the provided maps for further detail on these treatments.

Blackjack RX Fire Breaks: There is 13 firebreaks within this treatment for an overall length of 17 miles and overall acre total of approximately 43 acres. This treatment will be completed twice a year for a total of 86 acres. The timeframe will be determined by the COR once the contract has been awarded. (Typically once in the spring and once in the fall). The minimum standard for this treatment is 20-foot wide disk line to bare mineral soil.

Blackjack RX Roads: There is 10 roads within this treatment for an overall length of 25 miles and overall acre total of approximately 47 acres. The treatment will be completed twice a year for a total of 95 acres. The timeframe will be determined by the COR once the contract has been awarded. (Typically once in the spring and once in the fall). Mowing alongside designated refuge roads. The minimum standard will be 12 foot from the edge of the road. Treatments that will include the road will be identified on the map with the color red; treatments that only include the roadsides will be in blue. Additionally, all signs, culverts and water control structures will need to be mechanically treated as well (ex. Weed trimmer, hand mowing, etc.) within that 8-foot minimum standard. Contractor is responsible for removing any large buildup of debris left on paved roads.

Blackjack WUI Break: This treatment is one control line that is approximately 20 miles long with an overall acreage of 97 acres. This treatment will be completed twice a year for a total of 194 acres. The timeframe will be determined by the COR once the contract has been awarded. (Typically once in the spring and once in the fall). The minimum standard for this treatment will be a minimum of 40-foot wide bare mineral soil line. This line has multiple seasonal wet areas that depending on rainfall amounts may not be passable. These will be left to the COR to determine if they can be skipped depending on the time of the treatment. As well, some will have wood chips present from previous mechanical work.

Blackjack Mulching: This unit is approximately 246 acres and will need mulched 100% to ground level. These tracts have a large amount of small diameter brush 1-6 inches and a small amount of larger brush 6-12 inches. Larger trees (ex. 24 inch dbh or higher) are present but limited. These entire units will be cleared of all woody vegetation as close to the ground as possible with minimal ground disturbance. It will need to be mulched 100% to ground level.

PART 6

Applicable Publications

6. Applicable Publications (Current Editions)

6.1. The Contractor must abide by all applicable Federal and State regulations and laws applicable to this project.

PART 7

Attachment/Technical Exhibit Listing

7. Attachment/Technical Exhibit List:

7.1. Attachment 1/Technical Exhibit 1 – Performance Requirements Summary

7.2. Attachment 2/Technical Exhibit 2 – Deliverables Schedule

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1

Performance Requirements Summary The contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

PRS # 1.

· Tracts: The contractor shall treat approximately 500-600 acres on the Blackjack unit of Aransas NWR outlined by the PDF File.

· Mowing – 12-foot minimum width along both sides of all roads that are fire breaks as well as road.

· Disking – 20-foot minimum width to bare mineral soil on RX breaks and 40-foot minimum on WUI break.

· All culverts and water control structures will be cleared of all vegetation minimum 3-foot diameter.

· The contractor will provide 100% of all debris and trash to be cleared from tract on a daily basis. The area must be kept clean at all times.

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 2 DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

All work to be completed twice within one year of the contract date. One treatment in the spring and one treatment late fall.

Timeframes will be set by COR.